Surprising baseball facts

[Tabe]

Ted Williams:

- won two Triple Crowns
- won two MVPs
- hit .400
- hit .388
- led the majors with 145 RBI

ALL of these were accomplished in different seasons.


Joey Gallo:

Achieved 100 career home runs before 100 career singles, the only player to ever do that.


2019 LA Angels:

Until Trevor Cahill threw 4 innings at the end of September across 3 appearances, the Angels were on track to become the first team ever to have no pitchers with 100 IP. Cahill finished with 102.1.


Phil Niekro:

Led the NL in both wins AND losses in 1979 with a record of 21-20. He finished 6th in Cy Young voting and won a Gold Glove.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Ted Williams:

- won two Triple Crowns
- won two MVPs
- hit .400
- hit .388
- led the majors with 145 RBI

The truly astounding thing is that both seasons Williams won the Triple Crown, he was robbed of MVP. The media's undying hatred for the man was astounding. A top 3 hitter in our game.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Seven

The media's undying hatred for the man was astounding.

...but understandable. The guy wasn't the easiest personality to deal with, not to mention the ego. Basically DiMaggio with a mouth.

Mantle had an ego and a mouth, but the personality and his personal character flaws seemed so much more human and relatable vs. the other two guys. It explains a lot about Mick's continued popularity as compared to the waning popularities of Williams and DiMaggio.

That's not to say that Williams and Joe D. didn't have humane and decent sides to them. The fact that they often tended to keep hush-hush about their kind deeds says so much.

All three were complex personalities in their own ways. Sometimes heartwarming, often infuriating, but endlessly fascinating.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Seven

The truly astounding thing is that both seasons Williams won the Triple Crown, he was robbed of MVP. The media's undying hatred for the man was astounding. A top 3 hitter in our game.

Williams and Ruth, presumably. Who is your other top 3 hitter?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Williams and Ruth, presumably. Who is your other top 3 hitter?

I flip-flop constantly. Cobb, Gehrig and sometimes Bonds. Cobb was such a complete threat, dominated the deadball era. Bonds, well the numbers speak for themselves but he truly didn't become God-Like until he was aided by some chemical assistance later in his career. Gehrig tends to hold the spot most often, however. Tremendous power, and able to hit into the gaps as well. Walked a good amount and hit for a high average on a consistent basis. Had the chips fallen, differently and he'd not contracted ALS I think we can safely assume he'd total at least in the mid 500's for homers and 3000+ hits.

That's the tough thing about these debates. I always have Ruth and Williams one and two. The hard part is choosing three!

And don't get me started if we're allowed to factor in Negro League Ballplayers! Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston would certainly enter the conversation as well!